


Arthur's One True Love

by Idril_Telperien1



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 20:42:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idril_Telperien1/pseuds/Idril_Telperien1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after 3x12. Merlin does not arrive in Camelot alone; his twin sister Talliah follows him on his adventure. Talliah soon catches the eye of Arthur but she's not quite so smitten with the young Prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

I knew what I had to do.

Someone with a pure heart had to die in order to stop the immortal army destroying Camelot. I wasn’t arrogant enough to believe that I was pure of heart but ever since I’d talked to Gaius last night about what it would take to kill the army I could recall the dragon telling me time and again when I’d go down to see him how I must have such a pure heart to be so kind. Maybe he had known all along that it would be my destiny to die so the two boys I loved could continue with theirs. Just the idea that he could have known from that very first meeting hurt, even though it wouldn’t have changed what I was about to do. I wouldn’t, couldn’t regret a single second of the time I had shared with Arthur. Those secret moments we had shared in corridors, stolen looks across the crowded courtroom and those beautiful moments when we’d ridden off into the woods where we could finally be together. It just would have been nice to know how little time I had had left on Earth so I could have appreciated it all a bit more.

 I sighed sadly as I made my way into the castle through the servant’s entrance. I proceeded carefully as I had to find my way to the throne room without being spotted by one of the sprawling army; they had instructions to shoot me on sight and the person who killed me had to be the one who cast the spell in the first place, my once friend: Morgana. Tears clogged my throat and burned my eyes as I thought of all the things that I was forfeiting for Camelot but I refused to let a single tear fall. I wouldn’t give Morgana the satisfaction of seeing me cry. But I still thought of all those I was leaving behind: I would never see my Mother again, never help Gwain out after a disastrous pub outing, never moan at my brother for leaving his side of our room in a complete tip, help Gaius cook dinner for the three of them or laugh with Gwen as we sorted through Morgana’s extensive wardrobe- wishing we owned some of those beautiful flowing dresses and daring each other to try on the brightly coloured silks. But the worst thing was knowing that I would never see Arthur again. How hard we’d fought to be together was all for nothing.

“I love you, Arthur.” I whispered as I threw open the throne room doors and walked towards my destiny.               


	2. Camelot

They say that before you die your life flashes before your eyes. The best moments, the ones that took your breath away and perhaps a few of the moments you wished you could forget. Of course this is cheating slightly. Those moments ,that montage of you, is meant to happen in the split second before the life leaves you and you go somewhere. I guess the one good thing about knowing that you’re about to die, that there is no tomorrow and no more second chances, is that you get longer to reflect than those who suddenly have a sword thrust through them. I get a chance to remember the highlights and what led me down this road.

My tale is a good one. One that can be told around campfires to children. A tale of family, of friendship, of love and betrayal, of a serving girl falling for a Prince and him actually loving her back. It even has a dragon.

It was the dragon that led me to my death. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. I’ve only started reminiscing and I’m already at the end. Perhaps it’s more pertinent to go back to where it all started.

_Camelot._

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

We left as the early morning light flooded our small village. Our Mother kissed us both in the house so as not to draw too much attention to our departure. As we left the house we’d lived in all our lives for the final time I couldn’t help but look back with tears in my eyes as I tried to take in everything that I’d taken for granted all my life. The house, if you could call it that, was slightly lopsided and made of an odd mismatch of different woods from the surrounding forest. It had a single room which was segmented by brightly coloured cloth my Mother had made to cheer the place up. Not that it needed it; her love was enough to brighten even the darkest cave. Sadly, it was her love and selflessness which meant the two of us were leaving her here alone.

Merlin had to leave. He was special and although he had managed to hide it for the past seventeen years the village had begun to notice his gifts. There was a rumour going around that he was a wizard; all good humoured jokes but too close to the truth for my Mother. If anyone ever found out about his abilities my brother was as good as dead. So my Mother was sending us to live with an old friend in Camelot. She hoped that in a big city we could fit in easily and not stand out. At first Merlin had been going alone but a few nights before we left she sat the two of us down and told us that I was to go with him. Part of me had been thrilled at the news; I'd been secretly envious that Merlin got to have a big adventure in the city while I was stuck in the small village but on the other hand I loved my Mother and didn’t want her alone. Not that we had any choice, being a single mother for seventeen years had taught her how to be stubborn and get what she wanted out of life. So I was leaving for Camelot with Merlin.

“Come on, Talliah.” Merlin wrapped an arm around me before leading me slowly away from the village. As we walked I looked up to see Will watching us from his doorway.  He gave a sad smiled and waved at us, my heart contracted painfully as I realised this would be the last time I’d see him for perhaps many years.

“Bye Will.” We whispered in unison as we waved back before turning and walking away from home into the unknown.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Three days later and we were getting ever closer to our destination however for someone who had never left their home before, sleeping alone in the cold forest with just my brother’s whistling snore for company was strange. The forest path we trekked through, while being the may way for the outlying villages to get to Camelot was still pretty deserted. We could go whole days with only the odd rider passing us by. The oppressive oaks loomed overhead and blocked out most of the sunlight, bathing us in ominous shadows with the trees too close together to see much on either side of the leaf strewn path. Each creak of branches or flapping wings on the first day of our travels had left me reeling round, eyes searching the gloom in all directions as I prepared to come face to face with a gang of robbers or a hungry wolf. However I’d eventually grown accustomed to the noises, and tired of Merlin’s laughter at my fright, and now just kept a half tuned ear alert for any unusual noises.

“Talliah! Talliah, look!” Merlin, who was always so full of boundless energy, had wandered on ahead of me and was stood on top of a ridge staring into the horizon.

“What? Let me guess another wood that we have to trek through before we get anywhere near Camelot.” I sighed in annoyance. While I had gotten use to life in the forest I wasn’t particularly desperate for it to go on any longer than necessary.

“Come see!” Reluctantly I trudged up the hill to see what all the fuss was about and gasped when I saw it: Camelot. The beautiful city stood regally atop a hilltop with high, white walls keeping it safe from invaders. The midday sun rose high above the city and cast an ethereal glow on the white turrets, almost blinding me if I looked for too long. The roads down below us had streams of horses and carts heading to the market and even from this distance I could hear happy exclamations as old friends met along the path. The whole scene was beautiful. “Excited?”

“Of course!” I grinned at him, the first real smile I’d given him in days, but before long I had to turn back to the gleaming city before us. “Imagine what it’s like to live there?” I whispered more to myself as I grasped Merlin’s tattered sleeve and began pulling him down the slope. For once I could match Merlin’s unbridled enthusiasm. While we were twins and looked spookily alike our personalities couldn’t be more different. Merlin was like a young puppy; full of excitement and enthusiasm that couldn’t be quashed by anything while I was more practical.

“I wonder if Gaius will like us?” I mused once the land began to level out again and I caught my breath.

“No one couldn’t like you. What with that sullen attitude and pessimistic personality I’ll be surprised if they don’t make you Queen.” He teased good humoured as I rolled my eyes at him.

“I’ll have to take you along whenever I need to convince a man to marry me.” I shuddered at the thought of marrying anyone. I guess it came from watching my Mother raise the two of us alone, while it had been a struggle she had been independent and proud. A fiery woman rather than the married women in our village who seemed quite content to be a man’s possession.

“Don’t worry about it, Tal; you’ll be fine after all no one will want to marry you.” He joked before beginning to run as he saw the look on his face. I raced after him heading blindly towards Camelot and the only man I would ever consider marrying.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Camelot was meant to be our haven.

A place of safety for my brother but almost as soon as we walked into the city we were confronted with the shocking reality of the knife edge we stood on. We walked into the courtyard of the most beautiful castle I could ever imagine seeing, which was crowded with people gawping up at who I guessed was the king. Tall and with a hint of the handsome young man he had once been, he stood regally over the gawping crowd as a young man was bought, bound at the wrists and struggling slightly against the two guards holding him up, up to a stage in the centre of a courtyard. There were gasps and murmurs from the crowd, some of whom even took an uneasy step back, and Merlin, who sensed the sudden atmosphere shift grasped my hand in his.

“This man that you see before you is accused of using magic and will be henceforth executed under Camelot law.” I turned to look at Merlin in horror at what we’d just heard. Merlin had turned an unnatural shade of white as though he had seen a ghost; perhaps it was his own haggard form hunched on the block beside the other poor soul. I brought my other hand over his, sandwiching it and squeezing it tightly. He bent his head, using my form as a shield from the horror we had both turned away from as the axe was bought down on one of Merlin’s kin. “Let it be known that anyone practising magic will suffer the same fate.”

“Let’s go.” I whispered not sure whether I meant to find Gaius or to leave Camelot altogether. Sadly as we began to head towards the castle, someone started screaming.

“What now.” Merlin whispered shakily. We turned in time to see a witch screaming up angrily at the King and threatening his son.

“Let’s not mention this to Mum.” I whispered as we stared in horror as she disappeared in a gust of wind.

“No, I think it may tip her over the edge.” He laughed at the dark humour as we hurried away into the castle before anything else happened.

 So much for a quiet life.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

It’s odd when you first see someone you’re going to fall in love with; it should be like a bolt of lightening all bird song and love at first sight. That was what was promised in all the fireside stories we were told as children. You’ll know when you meet your love; they’ll be the missing piece of the puzzle, they’ll fill a hole in your heart you didn’t even know was there and the connection would be instantaneous. Love at first sight. However, as most of my life panned out parallel to what would be considered the norm,  when I first set eyes on Arthur all I thought was _what an idiot, the girl who marries him will be a fool._ The first I saw of him was the day after our arrival in Camelot when we were delivering supplies to noblemen in the castle. There was a group of knights throwing swords and spears at a poor servant boy who was cowering behind a large shield.

“Move.”The ringleader, a tall, blond man yelled at the poor quivering boy. Merlin and I exchanged glances; both of us wanted to say something but neither dared. We may not have known much of castle etiquette yet but even we knew that knights were way above too unemployed scroungers living with the physicians in the social pecking order. The poor boy looked scared out of his wits as he raced around the lawn. Tall but too scrawny to be intimidating, brunette with big puppy dog eyes. It wasn’t hard to imagine my brother in his place.

“Ok, ok enough.” I wandered between the knights and the poor serving boy, unable to stand the similarities any longer.

“Excuse me?” All the knights crowded around us menacingly, led by the blond boy who’d been yelling earlier. He reminded me of Hermus who led a gang that used to torment Will and Merlin when they were younger.

“I said you’ve had enough of your _fun_ now leave him alone, please.” I went up on my tiptoes so that I looked slightly taller and, I hoped, more threatening but somehow I doubted it.

“Who the hell are you?” The Hermus-alike growled at me before turning angrily to Merlin who was stood differing behind me. “Here, you boy, is she yours?”

 I felt like someone had slapped me across the face, the idea that I was Merlin’s, and he had any sort of control over me, would have been laughable in any other situation but right now it stung.

“I’m no ones.” I whispered, anger clogging up my throat making some of the men chortle.

“Leave my sister alone!” Merlin growled pushing his way between me and the group of knights.

“Do you _know_ who we are?” The Hermus-alike growled angrily at my brother.

“A group of pompous knights who think they’re better then everyone.” Merlin retorted making them growl angrily in unison. More like pack dogs then men.

“How dare you! If you two don’t leave right now you’ll be spending the night in the dungeons.”

“Who do you think you are? The King.” Merlin, whose sense of justice was inexplicably greater than his sense of self preservation, decided to keep prodding the group of men who were crowding dangerously close to us.

“No.” He met my eyes and smirked as he pulled out his trump card. “I’m his son.”

 “Let’s go.” I hissed at my brother and dragged his arm; the dungeons were one place I wasn’t keen to explore and Merlin getting angry and revealing his gifts would only end in disaster.

“Scared are we? Next time keep your girl on a leash.” One of the knights chortled. Merlin turned angrily and lunged at him. What a mistake, Merlin a rookie who couldn’t even take down tiny Marley back home against a dozen or so trained knights. Merlin took a nasty blow to the mouth and I was grabbed round the waist by Arthur was growled angrily in my ear that I should have stayed doing my embroidery.

Love at first sight, it most definitely wasn’t.                


End file.
